Sister Mary Brigh Cassidy, author of Gifts of Her Spirit, lived and worked at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minn., for 55 years. After graduating from the Saint Marys School of Nursing, she became a Franciscan sister, received a master’s in nursing from The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Through her religious and health care service, she became a cornerstone in the growth and development of Saint Marys and its partnership with Mayo Clinic.
Even throughout her busy days, she found quiet moments to reflect and write about her experiences with patients and colleagues, nature, and her deep spirituality. Two of Sister Cassidy’s friends, Sister Lauren Weinandt and Jane K. Campion, safeguarded her complete works and selected a collection of her poems for this book.